GI killed in Taliban attack on base

KABUL — Backed by a truck bomb, Taliban gunmen in military fatigues staged a brazen raid Monday on a sprawling base shared by U.S. and Afghan forces, killing a U.S. soldier.

The attack on Forward Operating Base Pasab in southern Afghanistan was the first major Taliban attack since insurgents killed 21 civilians, 13 of them foreigners, at a popular Lebanese restaurant in Kabul on Friday.

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Both attacks followed a well-established pattern used by militants across the region: A suicide bomber went in first to clear the way for gunmen.

Afghan officials and officers from the NATO-led coalition said the assault on the base — in Kandahar province's Zhare district — began shortly after 10 a.m. when a small truck packed with explosives drove up to the main gate. The driver set off a powerful blast, killing himself and the U.S. soldier, Zhare Gov. Jamal Agha said.

Within seconds, a minivan sped to the gate, and eight gunmen wearing military fatigues and suicide vests jumped out and tried to storm the base, officials said.

But the attackers proved no match for the troops defending Pasab.

The U.S. surveillance around Pasab is extensive — cameras are mounted on masts and attached to balloons suspended hundreds of feet in the air — and U.S. and Afghan soldiers “quickly engaged with the attackers and killed all eight bombers before they could enter the base,” said Agha, whose compound is near Pasab's main entrance.

Sarwar Khan, who leads the district's council of elders, said he was sitting in the governor's compound when he heard the blast, followed by about 15 gunshots.

The attack was over so quickly, he said, that he didn't realize until later that he was nearly caught in a major assault.